


The trick to winning

by abucketfulloffeels



Category: Majisuka Gakuen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 13:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4748447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abucketfulloffeels/pseuds/abucketfulloffeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An original backstory for Magic. (Season 4)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The trick to winning

**Author's Note:**

> Since in the MajiGaku series, the characters mostly go by nicknames and their “real name” in canon is the real name of whoever is portraying them IRL, I’ll be going by “Yuria” instead of “Magic” for most of the story.

 It was 8 pm sharp. In the dimly lit house, 8-year-old Yuria glanced at the clock, then the table with already cold dishes of cooked food, and finally the window. Her older brother was not home yet, when he should have been an hour and a half ago. Yuria sighed. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but her stomach was already full - full of dread in expectation of what was going to happen.

 Just then, she heard the familiar sound of the rustling of keys, and her brother, Yuuji, stumbled through the door.

 “Nii-chan!”

Yuria got up and walked towards Yuuji. He was covered in bruises, his school uniform dusty and crumpled. She knew it.

 “Sorry, Yuria-chan, I’m late again. I had to go meet a friend and…I fell into a drain on the way home.” Yuuji said apologetically, noticing that his younger sister was staring at his bruised face.

  _Yeah, you met your friend and fell in the drain again, the same excuse as usual. You were fighting again, weren’t you?_  “Oh,” Yuria nodded. “Anyway, let’s go eat our dinner. The food is turning cold.”

“Man, I told you not to wait for me if I was coming back late,” Yuuji dumped his bag down and went to help Yuria in getting the utensils. Yuuji dished out the rice while Yuria set the table - Yuuji on the right and her on the left, as always.

 Yuuji brought the bowls of rice to the table and they tucked in to the cold food, Yuria taking petite bites while Yuuji furiously shoveled the rice into his mouth.

 “Dad left for work the usual time?” Yuuji asked between mouthfuls.

 “Yeah, after preparing dinner.”

 Silence ensued for a while as they continued eating.

 “Hey Yuria-chan, I’ve got something for you.” Yuuji suddenly put down his chopsticks and limped toward his bag, and pulled out a deck of playing cards and a small book.

 “Card tricks for beginners?” Yuria looked at the book quizzically as Yuuji brought it to the table.

 “I bought it from the shop on the way home. It’s your birthday tomorrow right? I figured you’ll have fun learning some of these tricks since you may be lonely at home by yourself after school.” There was a sparkle in Yuuji’s eyes, which was what Yuria loved the best about her brother.

 “Thanks, Nii-chan!” Yuria beamed.

 With Yuria’s mother long gone and her father constantly absent due to his work in the night shift, her 16-year-old brother was the only kin she was close to. Although Yuuji got into fights every now and then and always hid it from her, he meant the world to her.

~~~

 Ever since that day, Yuria fell in love with the world of illusions and magic tricks. Every day, she would learn new card tricks and practice them until they were totally convincing. Then, she would show them to Yuuji when he came home from school. Seeing how enthralled his sister was with card tricks and illusions, Yuuji went and bought her more books with more advanced tricks, and Yuria learnt every single one of them. The world of magic was an escape from the real world - an escape from being an outcast in school, an escape from the poor, dismal neighbourhood where violence was rampant, an escape from Yuuji coming home from fights and lying again - an escape from everything.

~~~

 It was one of those days where Yuuji came home injured again. This time, there was blood all over his face and dark red splotches on his sleeves.

 “I’m…home.”

 “You fought again, Nii-chan.”

 “W-what?” Yuuji gasped and suddenly became flustered. “Y-yuria-chan what are you talking about when did I ever said I fought-”

 “I’m not a fool, Nii-chan. I knew this since last year. I have heard from the people at school and the neighbours next door.”

 Yuuji hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

 Yuria embraced him. “It’s okay, Nii-chan. But could you promise me something?”

 “Yeah?” Yuuji tenderly touched Yuria’s head.

 “Can you stop fighting from now on?”

 Yuuji stiffened. Yuria looked up.

 “I…can’t. I’m sorry.”

 “But I don’t want you to get injured.”

Yuuji smiled. “These injuries mostly heal after a week. It’s okay, Yuria-chan. Our fights are fair and square. I’ll be fine.”

_He’ll be fine._

~~~

 Yuria was demonstrating another trick to Yuuji after dinner as usual (an original trick this time - she started creating her own tricks and illusions after she got bored of all the tricks in her books), when she stopped.

 “Nii-chan, do you win fights very often?”

 “Well…not all the time. But I always fight fairly, with no dirty tricks hidden under my sleeve, and that’s the most important.”

 “Then what’s the point of fighting when winning is not important?”

 Yuuji sighed. “It’s complicated, Yuria-chan. Why don’t you continue and show me that new trick again?”

~~~

 Time passed quickly. Yuuji turned 18 and was in his final year in senior high school, and Yuria was 10. Yuuji was fighting less often now, to Yuria’s delight. Her Nii-chan was sustaining injuries less frequently, and she was able to show him more tricks since he came home on time most of the time.

 One day, Yuuji arrived home later than usual. However, instead of coming back with a face full of bruises, he was holding a piece of paper in his hands, and his eyes were sparkling more than ever.

 "What’s that, Nii-chan?“

 "Our district’s baseball team is scouting for players. And I have decided - I want to join the team. I want to be a baseball player.”

 Yuria never seen her brother this excited before. She knew that her brother was in the school baseball team and played sometimes, but this was the first time she saw him so determined and passionate about the sport - or anything in fact.

 "That’s great!“

 Yuuji beamed and pat her head. “Yes, and I have decided to stop fighting as well.”

 Yuuji no longer fighting? That was great! Yuria could not have been any happier. It was at that moment when she felt that real magic did exist, not elaborate illusions conjured up by magicians - or herself - to impress others, and to bring others into another imaginary world.

~~~

 Yuuji trained hard. He started coming home late again, but that was okay to Yuria. She knew her brother was working hard at his dream. She too was working hard as well, creating and practicing more spectacular and elaborate magic tricks.

 Soon came the weekend before the baseball team tryouts. Yuuji went back to school to train once more, and this time he brought Yuria along - something he always feared doing .(“There are many thugs there. It’s not safe for you,” he told her.)

 When Yuuji was done for the day, he and Yuria walked back home together, Yuuji walking on the right side of the path while Yuria walked on the left. Yuria walked with a skip in her step - she could not wait to show Yuuji her newest, most complicated magic trick which she had been practicing for weeks.

 Out of the blue, a loud voice was heard. “Yuuji!”

 Yuuji recoiled slightly. Yuria knew something was off.

 Three burly, fierce looking boys approached them. Yuuji was visibly displeased. “Stay here,” he whispered to Yuria, touching her head lightly while he went towards them.

 "What do you want? I said I’m no longer fighting.“ Yuuji voice suddenly sounded fiercer than usual.

 "Playing baseball, huh? Not trying to take the top?” The biggest of the three spat.

 Yuria shrunk behind a nearby tree as she watched the boys quarrel heatedly.  _Don’t fight, Nii-chan. You promised, right?_

 Behind the tree, she saw her brother turn around and walk away, but as he did so, one of the thugs grabbed his shirt collar and threw a punch at him.

 "No!“ Yuria let out a stifled scream as her brother dropped his baseball bag and retaliated with another punch.

 Fighting ensued, and Yuria stood rooted to the ground as the boys threw punches and kicks at each other. Although Yuuji was not as tall and strong as the other boys, he was agile, his dodges swift and blows accurate.

 After a heated tussle, the fight seemed to draw to a close - two of the boys lay crumpled on the patchy field while Yuuji knelt on the ground, raining punches on his final opponent. Yuuji fought fair and square alright - and he was clearly winning. Seeing this, Yuria moved away from the tree and started heading towards him.

 Just as Yuuji was about to strike his ending blow, that guy suddenly got up and sprayed a can of liquid in Yuuji’s eyes, stunning him.

 Yuria gasped. That was cheating…wasn’t it? Her brother fought with his fists - he didn’t even use his baseball bat - while these thugs had a dirty trick up their sleeves!

 With his eyes burning, Yuuji was unable to fight back as the pain was overwhelming and he simply could not see. His three opponents got up and beat him up in no time, reducing him to a moaning, broken mess on the ground.

 “Looks like we’ve won this time. What do you have to say, eh? Yuuji?” The big guy jeered for the last time before the three of them stumbled away, laughing.

 “That wasn’t fair! You all cheated!” Yuria shouted as she ran towards her brother.

 “Y…yuria…” Yuuji groaned, “get help quick…my eyes…”

~~~

 What followed after happened so fast, Yuria could not register all the events clearly. The next she knew, she was at the hospital sitting outside the patient’s ward kicking her feet together while her father (who had rushed back from work) and the doctor were conversing in the ward while her brother lay there. They were talking in muffled voices so she could not hear everything , but she picked up words like “pretty serious” and “blindness” and “rest of his life”, and she knew it was bad news.

 Yuria’s father walked out of the ward. Yuria immediately jumped out of the chair. “Dad, how’s Nii-chan? Can I go see him?”

 “Sure, but not too long. He needs to rest. I’ll be gone for a while to handle the hospital procedures, so you can go spend time with him for now.”

 Yuria shuffled into the ward apprehensively. Yuuji’s eyes were bandaged, but he could hear her entering and turned his head towards her.

 “N…nii-chan, are you alright?”

 Yuuji sighed. “They sprayed drain cleaner on my eyes, and…I got blinded.” His voice cracked, and he sounded like he had been crying.

 A deafening silence ensued between the two of them. Then Yuria broke it. “So…you won’t be able to play…”

 “Yeah, guess I won’t be able to join the baseball team now,” Yuuji quipped with a forced chuckle.

 Sitting next to her blinded brother, tears of indignation and anger welled up in Yuria’s eyes. What was the point of fighting fair and square when others will bend the rules just to win? Nii-chan fought fairly, but his opponents played dirty and now Nii-chan will never be able see again. He will never be able to achieve his goal in the baseball team, he will never have eyes that sparkled when he was excited, he will never be able to see Yuria’s most spectacular magic trick to date.

  At this point, Yuria no longer cared about performing that magic trick. She would rather use her magic to restore her brother’s sight. But deep down inside, she knew - true magic never existed.

~~~

 4 months after that fateful day, Yuuji’s three aggressors were hanging around the neighbourhood when a young girl barely 11-years-old challenged them to a fight. She fought like a whirlwind, catching them completely off-guard, and won the fight at lightning speed. For the next few years, word spread about the young female delinquent who never lost a fight, and was infamous for employing a slew of underhand tricks and illusions in order to win. Not many knew her full name, but she called herself "Magic”.

~~~

   "Hey Magic,“ Bakamono asked one day as she and Magic were chilling in Rapappa’s club room, "What’s with your obsession with winning? I’ve never seen anyone so hard up about winning other than you.”

  “‘Cause it’s the only option.” She replied matter-of-factly.

   "But why?“

 Magic’s eyes sparkled, and she pulled out a coin from the back of Bakamono’s head to Bakamono’s amazement, causing her to forget about the question altogether. 


End file.
